As though things couldn’t get any worse for the Los Angeles Angelscoming off of a three-game sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team announced that the hot-hitting Peter Bourjos will not be joining the team for its trip to Detroit due to a jammed thumb.

After having already lost Bourjos for 38 games to a strained left hamstring earlier this season, the Angels are hoping this is nothing serious. With little room for error against the Detroit Tigers (42-32), the Angel offense will find it rough going without its hottest hitter and second-best baserunner.

Starved for production at the key hitting spots, the Halos had welcomed Bourjos’ .364 average since his return, batting him at both leadoff and at the bottom of the order.

Outfielder J.B. Shuck will likely see more time in Bourjos’ absence, and Josh Hamilton is doubtful to miss more games after sitting out the weekend contest against Pittsburgh. The only question is where to hit Hamilton, who keeps digging an even deeper hole for himself as his average inches ever close to the notorious .200 mark.

Any injury is bad news for the Angels, but the loss of one of their few hot hitters is a huge blow even for a few games, as the Halos must be competitive in every single game if they still have a mind to salvage their playoff hopes.

In any case, we won’t know the full impact of Bourjos’ injury until tomorrow’s first matchup against Detroit.

Tony Baker is a Los Angeles Angels blogger for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter at @tonloc_baker.